In a network printing system having a plurality of printing devices (such as printers) and a plurality of terminals (such as personal computers) that are connected via a network, a user at each terminal performs printing operations by selecting a printing device located nearby, for example. Printing conditions such as number of pages to print and period of use usually differ according to the user and the printing device. Further, printing devices often have different printing speeds and paper tray capacities.
However, when users are allowed to select a printing device on their own, some printing devices may be used infrequently despite having a fast printing speed, while other printing devices may receive a high concentration of print jobs despite having a slow printing speed. An excessive concentration of print jobs on a particular printer may force users to wait needlessly and may cause the printing device to break down. These types of problems can be avoided by changing the installation layout of the printing devices and the printing destinations used by the terminals or by distributing print jobs. Such actions can also be taken to reduce printing costs. Specifically, the overall cost of the system can be reduced by using primarily economical printing devices.
However, modifications in the printing device layout and job distribution have been charged to administrators of the network printing system, forcing these administrators to bear an unreasonable work load. Further, when constructing a new network, it is necessary to plan the arrangement of printing devices and terminals with consideration for load distribution and cost reductions. However, such planning is often complicated and imposes an unreasonable workload on the administrators even before the network is constructed.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to lighten the workload of administrators in charge of a network printing system.